American Academy of Neurology, April 21-28, 2012

The annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology was held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans and attracted approximately 12,000 participants from around the world, including clinicians, academicians, allied health professionals, and others interested in neurology. The conference highlighted recent advances in neurological disorders, with presentations focusing on the diagnosis, management, and treatment of disorders impacting the brain and nervous system.

In one study, Amer Alshekhlee, M.D., of Saint Louis University, and colleagues evaluated whether tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) or thrombolysis was safe to administer to children with strokes.

"We evaluated approximately 9,300 children over the last 12 years using a large database of children. We found that the rate of tPA use was very low. We only identified 75 children who received tPA or thrombolysis," Alshekhlee said. "The main reason the number was so low was because of a scientific statement from the American Heart Association-Stroke in Children council, which recommended the use of tPA in children if they were involved in a clinical study, but not for use in clinical practice. However, this statement was not necessarily directed toward older adolescents, which is who we evaluated in this study."

The investigators also found that the risk of cerebral hemorrhage was approximately 4 percent in children, which was similar, if not lower, than that found in adults.

"In addition, the mortality rate was approximately 12 percent, which was roughly the same as that found in adults," Alshekhlee said. "Lastly, factors associated with hemorrhage and death were also similar to those found in the adult population."

In another study, Daniel Corcos, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois in Chicago, and colleagues found that weight training increased strength in patients with Parkinson's disease and improved the symptoms of the disease.

"We found that, when patients with Parkinson's disease did progressive resistance exercises (weight training) over a two-year time period, the measure of Parkinson's disease (the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Motor Exam) was improved by seven points as compared to a program involving flexibility training, balancing, and/or non-progressive strengthening," Corcos said. "The practicing neurologist should consider recommending an exercise program that involves weight training to patients with Parkinson's disease, as it improves neuromuscular function. Patients with Parkinson's disease become weak due to a lack of activity and dopamine deficiency, which leads to reduced muscle function."

J. Robin Moon, D.P.H., of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues found that foreign-born Hispanics had a lower stroke risk than non-Hispanic whites with similar socioeconomic backgrounds.

"The study found that after accounting for socioeconomic factors like education, income, and wealth, foreign-born Hispanics were 42 percent less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have a first stroke," Moon said. "Hispanics born in the United States had higher risk of stroke than non-Hispanic whites, but this difference was completely wiped out once we adjusted for socioeconomic factors. In other words, foreign-born Hispanics have lower stroke risk than non-Hispanic whites with similar socioeconomic backgrounds, but this protective effect does not extend to Hispanics born in the United States, who have stroke risk similar to non-Hispanic whites with similar education and financial resources."

FRIDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and those self-classified with gluten sensitivity (GS) have increased prevalence of migraine, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

MONDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- Several pharmaceutical treatment strategies are available for migraine prevention, according to an evidence-based guideline update published in the April 24 issue of Neurology to coincide with presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

THURSDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals suspected of having multiple sclerosis (MS) are less likely to be diagnosed with clinically definite disease if they soon start treatment with interferon (IFN) β-1a, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

THURSDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Fighters who are exposed to greater years of fighting and more fights per year have volumetric brain changes, and those who fight for nine or more years have impaired memory and processing speed, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

WEDNESDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with Parkinson's disease with motor complications, use of a levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) is associated with improvements in "off" time and in "on" time without troublesome dyskinesia (TD), compared with levodopa-carbidopa immediate release (IR) tablets, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug, ONO-4641, which is an oral sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonist, reduces the number of brain lesions in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- An imaging method, florbetaben-positron emission tomography (PET), accurately detects β-amyloid, a sign of Alzheimer's disease, in living people, according to the results of a phase 3 trial presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Women with current or past history of migraine, with or without aura, are at increased risk for developing depression, according to a study being released in advance of its presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Maternal history of migraine is significantly associated with an increased risk of infant colic, according to a study being released in advance of its presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

TUESDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Disrupted sleep is associated with amyloid pathology in cognitively normal individuals, according to a study being released in advance of its presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, which will be held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.

MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Increased caloric intake is associated with increased odds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in elderly adults, according to a study being released in advance of its presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, which will be held from April 21 to 28 in New Orleans.